Snowblowers on Skid Steers...good or bad ?

[Lucky]

Hello, Could you guys give me your thoughts and opinions on snowblowers mounted on skid steers ? I am thinking about getting one for my L170 New Holland. Thanks Lucky

 

[sp6x6]

I dont know the task for your skid, but I run a blower on a s185 and it is good for 2' type snow. I have cleared drives that are 3-4 ' deep but could use a larger blower, which would require hi flow for me, some day.Blower sb200x72

 

[real550A]

I dont know the task for your skid, but I run a blower on a s185 and it is good for 2' type snow. I have cleared drives that are 3-4 ' deep but could use a larger blower, which would require hi flow for me, some day.Blower sb200x72

sp6x6 and all- I'm presently shopping for an s185 to put a blower on to clear my 1/4 mile long driveway and barnyard. Will a standard flow unit be acceptable or, do I need to hold out for hi-flow machine? We generally get under 15" at a time, but the wind drifts it up to 3' pretty quickly. Thanks for any input! p.s. Lucky, not trying to hijack your thread, just expand on the replies some. Mike

 

[skidsteer.ca]

sp6x6 and all- I'm presently shopping for an s185 to put a blower on to clear my 1/4 mile long driveway and barnyard. Will a standard flow unit be acceptable or, do I need to hold out for hi-flow machine? We generally get under 15" at a time, but the wind drifts it up to 3' pretty quickly. Thanks for any input! p.s. Lucky, not trying to hijack your thread, just expand on the replies some. Mike

They work pretty good. A std flow s185 has 27 hp to the front couplers, a high flow has @ 40 hp so its will allow you to travel faster in the same snow conditions.
I can blow my plowed banks back with Erskine blower on std flow and they are so hard you can jump on them and not sink. High flow just lets you travel fast. If you have it great, if you don't you will likely still be fine.
I posted a long reply to this question in the attachment forum of things to consider regarding blowers and flow.
If you have any question feel free to contact me
807 275-6722
ken"at"skidsteer.ca, www.skidsteer.ca

 

[RodNH]

This is my first winter using a skidsteer/blower combo for snow removal on my 1/2 mile driveway (road). I am very pleased with the result. That particular combo has excellent forward visabilty and outstanding manuerability. It really shines in preventing the buildup of snowbanks to the point of not being able to handle more snow, as with a plow. Plus, dealing with heavy drifting is a snap. The most important thing is to make sure the blower is matched hydraulically to the skid's capability. My blower is Bobcat's SB200x72" wide. There are several different hydraulic motor packages available on that blower model, depending on the hydraulic capability of the skid. Mine happens to be high flow and I have the next to the largest hydraulic motor package. The same blower could be used on a regular flow skid but the motor package should be changed downward as needed to keep the fan rpm up while taking maximum advantage of the horsepower available from the skid. More HP is almost always better, so the high flow units would be preferable in maximizing forward speed, especially in deep or wet snow conditions. Here's mine on a Bobcat S650 - 30.5 gpm at 3500 psig at the quick couplers:

 

[skidsteer.ca]

This is my first winter using a skidsteer/blower combo for snow removal on my 1/2 mile driveway (road). I am very pleased with the result. That particular combo has excellent forward visabilty and outstanding manuerability. It really shines in preventing the buildup of snowbanks to the point of not being able to handle more snow, as with a plow. Plus, dealing with heavy drifting is a snap. The most important thing is to make sure the blower is matched hydraulically to the skid's capability. My blower is Bobcat's SB200x72" wide. There are several different hydraulic motor packages available on that blower model, depending on the hydraulic capability of the skid. Mine happens to be high flow and I have the next to the largest hydraulic motor package. The same blower could be used on a regular flow skid but the motor package should be changed downward as needed to keep the fan rpm up while taking maximum advantage of the horsepower available from the skid. More HP is almost always better, so the high flow units would be preferable in maximizing forward speed, especially in deep or wet snow conditions. Here's mine on a Bobcat S650 - 30.5 gpm at 3500 psig at the quick couplers:

There is nothing wrong with how that is working! Of course, as you said, dry snow takes less power then wet snow so the blower can go through it faster. same with fresh snow versus drifted, packed or plowed snow.
We say cast distances of 30 ft for std flow and 40 ft for high flow blowers. That would be for fresh dry snow conditions
Your Bobcat blower is almost an exact copy of the one Eskine used to build for them and manufacturer under their own name today.
As for how much snow can accumulate before you can't handle it with a blower, your really only limited by how high the machine can reach... around 12 ft for most skids. Even though I love winter, I hope I never see quite that much!
We will like move this post to the Attachment forum, so if you come looking and its not here check there.
Ken